The most expensive election in history

By Charles Mahtesian

04/20/12 06:22 PM EDT

My colleagues Maggie Haberman and Alex Burns have a series of items on their blog today that give you a sense of the staggering amount of money that is being spent on the 2012 elections – by some estimates, spending will ultimately amount to anywhere from $6 to $10 billion at the end of all this.

The Burns-Haberman blog broke the news this morning that American Crossroads, the pro-Republican super PAC, and Crossroads GPS , its nonprofit affiliate, will announce $100 million raised for both so far through the 2012 cycle.

All of it points to a wild year that will make this the most expensive election cycle in American history.

There are a few other takeaways here as well in this post-Citizens United world. One is that super PACs are on a trajectory to outpace the party committees as a political force in elections. The other is that an avalanche of money is being poured into elections at every level at a time when cynicism about politics is at dangerously high levels.